This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Layton still waiting for the budget to make up his mind

NDP Leader Jack Layton insists his party plans on giving the budget a chance.

New Democrat Leader Jack Layton insists his party still plans on giving the budget serious consideration.
(CHRIS WATTIE / REUTERS)

By Joanna SmithOttawa Bureau

Fri., March 18, 2011

OTTAWA—New Democrat Leader Jack Layton concedes it is getting harder to ignore the growing number of juicy scandals surrounding the Conservative government, but insists his party still plans on giving the budget serious consideration.

“It becomes more difficult because the political context has changed,” Layton said in an interview Thursday as the political world was rocking with the news that a former confidante to Prime Minister Stephen Harper was being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The government is also facing the possibility of being found in contempt, Layton noted as he listed the headlines that have appeared during his recovery from recent hip surgery.

“You just start going through the list and you realize that you have a government here that is increasingly showing contempt for our democratic institutions, so naturally that puts the discussion of the budget into the context of the overall approach of the Harper Conservatives,” Layton continued. “(It) certainly makes it a bit more difficult to find the possibility of supporting the budget.”

So, will he or won’t he? As the other opposition parties are deepening their lines in the sand, all eyes are on Layton, 60, and whether his party finds its handful of specific demands in the federal budget and then decides if that is a good enough reason to support the Conservatives through confidence votes.

Article Continued Below

“We put forward our recommendations as to what would constitute a good budget for Canadians and we’re keeping our eye on that ball,” Layton said, although he and other caucus members interviewed this week were pessimistic they could work out a deal like the $4.6 billion for NDP priorities in the 2005 budget in exchange for keeping the Paul Martin government alive.

“We were heard, but we don’t know whether or not we’re going to be listened to,” said NDP deputy leader and finance critic Thomas Mulcair of his meeting with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Layton’s meeting with Harper.

“It’s overwhelming that we believe we will go, because we’re seeing nothing at all that would lead us to believe that we’re going to get anything consequential or substantive out of the budget,” said NDP justice critic Joe Comartin.

NDP MP Pat Martin, who has been leading the charge for his party on the recent Conservative scandals, suggested campaigning on those ethical blemishes would be a better strategy anyway.

“I would rather fight an election based on the Conservatives’ ethical lapses than an election on the budget which has to have some merit in some aspect of it,” said Martin, adding he supports Layton’s approach.

The NDP wants to see improved pensions and an increase in the Guaranteed Income Security for seniors, the elimination of federal tax on home heating fuels, the return of the home eco-renovation tax credit and a higher number of family doctors and nurses to improve access to primary health care across the country.

These are what Layton calls “basic affordability issues.” NDP officials say they will present voters with tangible ways the federal government could improve their lives while the Liberals and Conservatives saturate the airwaves with more abstract ideas like leadership.

The focus on pocketbook issues does not mean the NDP will avoid talking about leadership in an election campaign.

Party officials say they are hoping to play Layton’s higher favourability ratings in the polls against lower ratings for Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and slice off a demographic of voters they are calling the “Layton Liberals.” Ekos pollster Frank Graves, however, doubts those numbers are significant because former prime minister Kim Campbell had the highest favourability ratings in Canadian history.

Another strategy for growth involves encouraging strategic voting, which goes against the established narrative that NDP loses support to the Liberals among voters who want to prevent Harper from winning.

NDP officials say the electorate is already polarized, but in their favour. Their candidates placed first or second in 104 ridings across the country in 2008 and the majority of those seats are held by Conservatives.

So, will he or won’t he? Layton argues the choice is not really up to him.

“The question is going to be: is the government going to respond?” Layton said. “Are they going to be ready to deliver a budget that involves working with other parties or is Mr. Harper going to stick to his old my way or the highway approach to things?”

Delivered dailyThe Morning Headlines Newsletter

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com